Pitt Will Have To Heed Brown Now

March 23, 1992|By MIKE DAME, The Orlando Sentinel

GAINESVILLE -- Growing up in Steelton, Pa., Craig Brown loved watching the Pittsburgh Panthers. There were times he envisioned himself wearing the Pitt gold, running downcourt on a fast break, taking a pass and floating in for a layup.

For those reasons and more, Brown, a sophomore guard at the University of Florida, is pumped for tonight`s second-round NIT game between the Gators and Pitt at Fitzgerald Field House.

Brown, you see, didn`t get a look from the Panthers as a senior at Steelton-Highspire High, when he was named central Pennsylvania`s Most Valuable Player.

Not even a letter.

``I wasn`t recruited by them, and it was kind of hard on me,`` said Brown, whose family will make the 3 1/2-hour drive to Pittsburgh tonight for the game. ``But I tried not to pay too much attention to it, and my dad told me other opportunities would come. And I`m happy where I`m at right now.

``I`ve tried to put all that behind me, and I don`t have any hard feelings. I feel like they`re any other team.``

Pitt isn`t any other team, though.

The Panthers failed to make the NCAA Tournament, but with a front line that features two of the best talents in the Big East Conference -- 6-foot-7 forward Chris McNeal and 6-10 center Darren Morningstar -- they have the talent to make it to New York for the NIT`s final four.

``They`re a big, physical team, and big teams have caused us trouble,`` said Florida coach Lon Kruger, noting the Gators` particular difficulty in their two losses to Georgia, which started a 7-foot center and a 6-10 forward.

One thing that would help is another big game from Brown. Playing at both shooting guard and small forward in Thursday`s 66-52 victory over Richmond, Brown had 10 points, five assists and -- most important -- a career-high nine rebounds.

Brown`s rebounding total marked the first time this season that a player other than center Andrew DeClercq or forward Stacey Poole led Florida in rebounding.

Said Brown: ``We need to come out (against Pitt) and play with a lot of intensity from the start. Against Georgia, we were kind of passive and laid- back and didn`t really get after things early in the game, and we let them dictate how they wanted to play. We have to go out there and do the dictating.``